The League of Women Voters Minnesota has issued the following response to Holmstadt's rant:

A recent article in the SWC Bulletin regarding Leilani Holmstadt’s opinions about the League of Women Voters (as found on her campaign’s official Facebook post) calls into questions the 97-year history of the League of Women Voters Minnesota and our work on behalf of all Minnesota residents. The League grew out of the suffragette movement and its successful effort to secure passage of the 19th Amendment giving women the right to vote. Since that time, the League’s members have focused their volunteer time on voting rights and voter education.

Are readers aware that League members volunteer at every citizenship ceremony registering thousands of new voters and welcoming them as part of our democratic process? If you’ve never attended a naturalization ceremony, I urge you to do so to witness the joy and enthusiasm our newest voters share on that day.

From our earliest days League has been actively engaged in protecting the Constitutional right to vote for all citizens. We do this through education and advocacy. Our voter education efforts are best seen during election years when Leagues all across Minnesota host hundreds of candidate forums. These forums are often the only opportunity voters have to compare candidates’ views side-by-side. The questions are submitted by voters and reflect the concerns of the community. Our other educational work is done on the issues Minnesota faces. Were you in the audience for a community forum on sex trafficking? How about the one on racial equity? Preventing gun violence? Cultural diversity? Community policing in the wake of the shooting of Philando Castile? Had you attended any one of these or any other League forum, you would have learned that League brings together diverse points of view and conducts a civil discussion where all voices are heard.

Ms. Holmstadt also called into question the League’s position on various issues. Our Program for Action can be found on our website at lwvmn.org. In it, readers will learn that League’s positions on issues are arrived at only after our members research and study issues, hold thoughtful discussions, and arrive at a consensus. Many of our positions predate current topics by decades. In it, our positions on topics ranging from clean water to education to government transparency. But, to clear up just a couple of Ms. Holmstadt’s misstatements, please allow me the courtesy of providing facts (and the dates these positions were adopted):

Gun Violence — “Protect the health and safety of citizens through limiting the accessibility and regulating the ownership of handguns and semi-automatic assault weapons, and support the allocation of resources to better regulate and monitor gun dealers. (1990, 1994, 1998)

Immigration — “Reform should promote reunification of immediate families; meet the economic, business and employment needs of the United States and be responsive to those facing political persecution or humanitarian crises. Provisions should also be made for qualified persons to enter the U.S. on student visas. All persons should receive fair treatment under the law. (2008)

Reproductive Choice — “Protect the constitutional right of privacy of the individual to make reproductive choices. (1983)

Finally, the League of Women Voters Minnesota is a 501(c)3 nonprofit nonpartisan organization. The League does not endorse candidates for office or political parties. Membership is open to all regardless of gender, citizenship or political point of view. League members do “prowl the halls” of the Capitol, as Ms. Holmstadt wrote. Did she mean to imply that citizens should not be participating in our government or advocating for things like the rights of children, protecting the environment?

Had Ms. Holmstadt, attended the candidate forum held earlier in the week for the SD54 race, she would have participated in a thoughtful discussion of topics voters in her district care most about. Her failure to appear was noted and will be seen by all those who view the video on your community access television station. Voters across Minnesota are turning out for candidate forums in unprecedented numbers because they want access to candidates and to know that the candidates will hear their concerns and represent their interests. Her decision not to participate short-changed the voters of SD54.

I would welcome the opportunity to meet with Ms. Holmstadt and to provide her with additional background about the League’s work. Perhaps together we could attend an upcoming naturalization ceremony and register voters? Together we could hear first-hand about how much voting and our democracy means to our newest voters. I hope she will take me up on this invitation

. . . League organizers had a chair and sign for Holmstadt next to her opponent, Democrat Dan Schoen, but removed the sign when the forum started. The moderator announced Holmstadt was invited but was not participating. The League’s policy is to allow a candidate to participate even if the opponent does not.

“It’s unfortunate my opponent isn’t here tonight to visit with us as well,” said Schoen, DFL-St. Paul Park, who currently represents House District 54A. The other Republican candidates, House District 54A’s Keith Franke and House District 54B’s Tony Jurgens, participated. . . .

Bluestem has to wonder if voters in the district are impressed by her hard-shell conservative views and refusal to engage with the impure.

Photo: State Representative Dan Schoen, DFL-Cottage Grove, answering voters' questions, without the pleasure of his opponent's company. Photo by Scott Wente, via the South Washington County Bulletin.

If you appreciate our posts and original analysis, you can mail contributions (payable to Sally Jo Sorensen, 33166 770th Ave, Ortonville, MN 56278) or use the paypal button in the upper right hand corner of this post.

Oct 20, 2016

Pioneer Public Television has scheduled candidate debates between Minnesota House and Senate candidates in the Willmar, Benson, Montevideo, Clara City area on Thursday October 20 from 7 - 10 p.m.

The debates will be broadcast live from Pioneer Public TV’s studios in Appleton and will be hosted by Eighth Judicial District Judge Amy Doll. Viewers will be able to call (1-800-726-3178), tweet (@PioneerPublicTV or email questions (yourtv@pioneer.org) to the candidates during the debates. For more information, contact Patrick Moore, Communications Director at 320-841-1487 or pmoore@pioneer.org.

At 7 p.m House District 17A candidates Tim Miller (R) of Prinsburg will debate Andrew Falk (DFL) of Murdock.

At 8 p.m. House District 17 B candidates Dave Baker (R) of Willmar will debate Mary Sawatzky (DFL) of Willmar.

At 9:00 p.m. Senate District candidates Lyle Koenen (DFL) of Clara City will debate Andrew Lang (R) of Olivia.

If you appreciate our posts and original analysis, you can mail contributions (payable to Sally Jo Sorensen, 33166 770th Ave, Ortonville, MN 56278) or use the paypal button in the upper right hand corner of this post.

Former MnDOT employee Galen Henjum identifies one special wrinkle in Miller's veracity in a letter to the editor of the West Central Tribune, Taking credit for work by others:

I'm amazed when I see elected officials taking credit for things they didn't do. Tim Miller claims responsibility for getting Highway 12 resurfaced between Benson and Kerkhoven and this is simply not true. That project was included in the state transportation improvement program as far back as 2013 when Andrew Falk was serving as our state representative. I know because I was working there (MnDOT).

Tim Miller takes credit for passing a large transportation bill that is rebuilding roads and bridges. The truth is, Tim Miller passed no long-term comprehensive transportation bill. He simply voted for a "lights-on" transportation bill, which was a continuation of the bill and policies passed by Andrew Falk and the DFL in 2013-2014. . . .

If you appreciate our posts and original analysis, you can mail contributions (payable to Sally Jo Sorensen, 33166 770th Ave, Ortonville, MN 56278) or use the paypal button in the upper right hand corner of this post.

Oct 18, 2016

Bluestem's not a big fan of the tactic of attempts to get speaking events cancelled, so as Bagley Public High School once again finds itself in the midst of a dust-up over an anti-Muslim speaker, we're wondering if more education might be a better strategy to counter tonight's John Guandolo event in the Northwest Central Minnesota small town in Clearwater County.

Our post is mentioned in a new press release issued by the Minnesota chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-MN):

The Minnesota chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-MN) today called on administrators of Bagley High Schoo lin Bagley, Minn., to cancel an event this evening featuring notorious Islamophobe and anti-Muslim conspiracy theorist John Guandolo.

The Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC), an organization that tracks hate groups in America, describes Guandolo as "a disreputable character, who regularly attacks the U.S. government, claims that the director of the Central Intelligence Agency is a secret Muslim agent for the Saudi government and says that American Muslims 'do not have a First Amendment right to do anything.'"

"Islamophobes like John Guandolo have the right to spew their misinformation and bigotry, but they don't have the right to do it using a taxpayer-funded academic institution as a platform," said CAIR-MN Executive Director Jaylani Hussein. "The perception that the high school may be endorsing Guandolo's anti-Muslim bigotry could lead to a hostile learning environment for Muslim and other minority students."

He suggested that high school administrators tell Guandolo to find a private venue for his talk.

In June of this year, a Texas college canceled a similar event. The college's decision came following a request by CAIR's Dallas-Fort Work chapter.

Virginia's Rappahannock Regional Criminal Justice Academy rescinded its approval of in-service training credits for state law enforcement scheduled to attend a training Guandolo was conducting in Culpeper, Va., after being made aware of his anti-Islam rhetoric.

A sheriff in Kansas decided not to partner with a citizens group sponsoring a Guandolo training after being informed of his conspiracy theories. When a journalist at Kansas' Wichita Eagle covered the controversy, Guandolo accused the reporter of material support of terrorism.

Guandolo left the FBI shortly after reports surfaced that he had engaged in a sexual relationship with a key witness in a corruption trial targeting a member of Congress. In addition he is documented as having falsified his credentials and work experience.

Major General Tony Cucolo, Commandant of the US Army War College, informed CAIR in an email: "Mr. Guandolo's claim (in print) that he teaches at the Army War College and any other references (e.g., online) identifying him as an adjunct instructor here are simply untrue."

CAIR is America's largest Muslim civil liberties and advocacy organization. Its mission is to enhance the understanding of Islam, encourage dialogue, protect civil liberties, empower American Muslims, and build coalitions that promote justice and mutual understanding.

We'll monitor the news for developments in this story.

Photo: John Guandolo.

If you appreciate our posts and original analysis, you can mail contributions (payable to Sally Jo Sorensen, 33166 770th Ave, Ortonville, MN 56278) or use the paypal button in the upper right hand corner of this post.

In Tuesday's Morning Take, Blois Olson called attention to Republican Leilani Holmstadt's Facebook rant about the Minnesota League of Women Voters:

LWV: via Facebook from Leilani Holmstadt, GOP candidate for SD54, VERBATIM: “Voters in Minnesota Senate District 54 need to know about the partisan nature of the League of Women Voters (LWV), how phony their stated focus on good governance is, and how little they represent the interests of women...Here is the truth which is easily verified by visiting the LWV website. The LWV is a lobbying organization. LWV leaders prowl the halls of the Minnesota State Capitol promoting an agenda fully aligned with the DFL Party’s...The LWV fashions a public image of being a neutral party in elections as a distraction and reputation enhancer for its advocacy activities...Those operations advance abortion, gun control, and illegal immigration, among a host of other far left objectives. The League certainly doesn’t represent fetuses who would grow up to be women; it doesn’t represent women who want to protect themselves with legal firearms; and it certainly doesn’t represent women who lose their jobs to persons in the country illegally...I urge other responsible candidates for elected office to join me in refusing to participate in the LWV candidate forums and to, instead, call out the LWV for the left-wing lobbying organization it is.” LINK: http://bit.ly/2dkka7k

We've posted a screengrab of the comments on the post at the top of this post. Here's the thread as it stands now:

One would think that Holmstadt might take Strawser seriously. By day the head of a " strategic advisory firm specializing in global risk, business continuity, crisis management, crisis communications, and public affairs," by night, he's a Second Amendment activist, City Pages recently reported:

As an individual, however, Strawser serves as chairman of the board for a group of gun rights organizations, including the Minnesota Gun Owners Caucus; he co-hosts a podcast that focuses on gun legislation; and has been quoted in news media like the Star Tribune, City Pages, and MPR advocating for pro-gun policy.

But perhaps enabling social media fans to call lesbians names matters more to the Republican nominee than common sense from a respected conservative activist..

If you appreciate our posts and original analysis, you can mail contributions (payable to Sally Jo Sorensen, 33166 770th Ave, Ortonville, MN 56278) or use the paypal button in the upper right hand corner of this post.

She also criticized him for voting against an amendment acknowledging climate change.

"Climate change is happening, and if we don't recognize that, then we're going to be in big trouble," she said.

That drew a rebuke from Lueck.

"We've got real work to do down there, rather than make platitudes and statements about whether we think climate change is happening," he said. "I'll be the first to tell you point-blank—and I learned this from my granddad, and my great-granddad—climate change is a real thing. It's been a real thing for centuries, for thousands of years. So let's get over this kind of political gamesmanship about whether you believe in climate change or not. You have to be completely unrelated and uneducated not to understand that we are under constant climate change, and we've got a duty to be careful about protecting that."

Wagner shot back that Lueck's words contradicted his votes.

"It's interesting that Mr. Lueck says in person that climate change exists, yet voted to not acknowledge it," she said.

On the front page of Tuesday's newspaper, a headline read: "As summers get hotter, humans get more blame." This idea is being accepted as fact by most scientists around the world, by businesses and by government agencies such as NASA and the Department of Defense.

Even the pope seems to be down with it.

But apparently climate change is still not accepted in the Minnesota House.

The issue came up during the omnibus job growth and energy affordability finance bill discussion on the House floor last week. It was one of those debates that make you slap your forehead — and wonder how some of our elected representatives even found their way in to work that day. . . .

Rep. Melissa Hortman, DFL-Brooklyn Park, offered an amendment that stated plainly that the Legislature believes that climate change is indeed happening, and that human activity is one of the causes. She said that 97 percent of scientists agreed on the issue, and cited increasingly hotter weather patterns, and drought and flooding across the state that has cost more than $400 million.

You'd have thought she had asked the members to agree that the state bird was a feral pig.

Granted, it was likely a bit of theater designed to get members on record or diving for cover. British Comedy troupe Monty Python used to call the bit "Spot the Looney."

Hortman said she raised the issue because the Hou

se energy bill "repealed or otherwise neutered every progressive energy policy that Minnesota has passed since the early 1980s." . . .

Rep. Frank Hornstein, DFL-Minneapolis, said that the very next day the same House passed a bill legislating that these members will have the final say on complicated, scientific, water quality levels set by pollution control experts. . . .

Photo: Dale Lueck, against climate change being real before he was for it.

If you appreciate our posts and original analysis, you can mail contributions (payable to Sally Jo Sorensen, 33166 770th Ave, Ortonville, MN 56278) or use the paypal button in the upper right hand corner of this post.

Friday’s banquet for the Minnesota Governor’s Pheasant Hunting Opener is sold out as Montevideo and the surrounding area welcome Gov. Mark Dayton and his entourage for the pheasant opener for the second time.

Montevideo hosted the inaugural Governor’s Pheasant Hunting Opener in 2011 and our area is the first to host the event for a second time. . . .

. . . All eyes will be on the community Saturday as it hosts the sixth annual Governor's Pheasant Opener. Gov. Mark Dayton and U.S. Rep. Collin Peterson will be among the elected officials taking to the fields around Montevideo for the start of the state's pheasant season at 9 a.m. Saturday. . . .

Montevideo is looking at the Governor's Pheasant Opener as an opportunity to showcase all that the area has to offer for pheasant hunters and all of those who enjoy outdoor recreation, according to Steinbach.

And in this case too, it provides Montevideo with a national audience. That was one of the benefits the community discovered after hosting the inaugural Governor's Pheasant Opener.

The community saw a "big, reverberating effect'' from the ongoing digital presence the event provided, Steinbach said. News articles, videos and blogs continued to pop up on phone and computer screens whenever anyone searched pheasant hunting in Minnesota.

Over 20 different media outlets, including print, broadcast and online, are expected to be represented at the activities Friday and Saturday, according to Steinbach.

With this opportunity at hand, the number one point the community wants to emphasize this weekend is the availability of public lands for hunters. There are 47,004 acres of public lands open to hunting within a 25-mile radius of Montevideo, thanks to a mix of wildlife management areas, waterfowl production areas, and walk-in access areas. The Lac qui Parle Wildlife Management Area, with over 33,000 acres of the total, has long been a state magnet for pheasant hunters. . . .

As Legacy Chair Dean Urdahl, R-Grove City, points out at the 2:33:18-20 mark on the House's YouTube archive of the floor session that "there are no major changes in funding and projects" from the earlier House bill. True, a compromise had been worked out that allowed the White Earth Nation to run a disputed project, but since the nation offered to pay property taxes on the land, objections to the project were quelled under that compromise.

All that we can imagine is that Miller experienced an epiphany in that last split second, jumping into the anti-Legacy Act camp, agreeing with Steve Green, R-Fosston, that--despite the expressed wishes of the citizens of Minnesota, who voted in 2006 to fund projects that would protect, enhance and restore wildlife habitat--that there's too much publicly owned land.This is the only objection against the bill that's raised in debate by a lawmaker who voted against it.

Never mind, as Tony Cornish, R-Vernon Center, pointed out, that it's open to hunters and other members of the public. And that the public voted for this.

Miller frequently gripes about how--in Miller's mind at least--Governor Dayton hates the region of the state in which House District 17A is located. And yet the Governor has actively promoted hunting opportunities in the area.

Indeed, the Department of Natural Resources is touting the opening of a locally funded shooting range--the Governor and agency head Tom Landwehr are likely there as we type this--in a press release that promotes the region:

The dedication is part of the 2016 Minnesota Governor’s Pheasant Hunting Opener. Gov. Dayton leads the weekend festivities, which highlight the many hunting, recreational, travel and local opportunities the Montevideo area has to offer visitors. More information and updates on the event can be found at www.mngpho2016.com. Explore Minnesota and the DNR are assisting the Montevideo Area Chamber of Commerce in planning the event.

Montevideo has a population of 5,500 and is located 130 miles west of the Twin Cities at the intersections of U.S. highways 212 and 59, and Minnesota Highway 7. The city actively promotes hunting and outdoor recreation. Within 25 miles of Montevideo, there are 25 Walk-In Access areas totaling 3,335 acres, 16 Waterfowl Production Areas totaling 4,366 acres and 76 WMAs totaling 47,004 acres. All are open to public hunting.

Why did Representative Miller vote against the interests of his district?

If you appreciate our posts and original analysis, you can mail contributions (payable to Sally Jo Sorensen, 33166 770th Ave, Ortonville, MN 56278) or use the paypal button in the upper right hand corner of this post.

QFM is "a Christian radio station licensed to Fosston, Minnesota with its main studio in Grand Forks, North Dakota and additional studios in Bemidji, Minnesota," according to Wikipedia. It's owned by Pine to Prairie Broadcasting (FCC ownership data here, here, and here).

John Guandolo’s website is www.understandingthethreat.com I suggest you go to his website and click on “About John Guandolo” to access a pdf with 2 pages of information about John and his organization, an organization dedicated to providing strategic and operational threat-focused consultation, education, and training for federal, state and local leadership and agencies, and designing strategies at all levels of the community to defeat the enemy: Islam and the Jihadi Movement in the U.S.

UTT is the only organization in America which is briefing leadership at the national, state and local levels on the severity and dangers of the jihadi network here, providing training to law enforcement detailing the strategies and modus operandi of the jihadis (“terrorists”) while providing specific investigative guidance showing them how to locate and prosecute terrorists, (organizations and individuals) and working at the state level to create strategies to dismantle these networks.

John’s presentation will review the threat and the jihadi network in the U.S. and Minnesota, but will focus on the cooperation between the hard-left/Marxist Movement and the Jihadi Movement in the U.S. and practical actions citizens can take to defend their communities and take back ground.

County seat of Clearwater County, Minnesota, Bagley was home to 1,392 people at the time of the 2010 U.S. Census. Residents are represented by state representative Steve Green, R-Fosston, and state senator Rod Skoe, DFL-Clearbrook, in the Minnesota legislature--and by MN07 Congressman Collin Peterson in the U.S. House of Representatives.

[Guandolo] regularly attacks the U.S. government, claims that the director of the Central Intelligence Agency is a secret Muslim agent for the Saudi government and says that American Muslims “do not have a First Amendment right to do anything.”

Guandolo joined the bureau’s Counterterrorism Division in the wake of 9/11, but by 2005 he was posing as a driver for a “star witness” in the corruption case of former Congressman William Jefferson (D-LA). He made “inappropriate sexual advances” to that witness and soon was having an “intimate relationship…that he thought could damage an investigation.” He also unsuccessfully solicited the witness for a $75,000 donation to an organization he supported and carried on extramarital affairs with female FBI agents.

Guandolo’s actions risked tanking the government’s prosecution of Jefferson, and he faced an investigation by the bureau’s Office of Professional Responsibility. Though he later expressed “deep remorse” for his actions, he resigned from the bureau in December, 2008, ahead of an investigation by the Office of Professional Responsibility. Later that month, he became a full-time anti-Muslim activist and conspiracy theorist –– all under the guise of being a counterterrorism expert.

According to his resume, Guandolo became Vice President of the Strategic Engagement Group in December, 2008. He describes the tiny consultancy as the “only company in the United States aimed at identifying potential threats to homeland security.” This would come as a shock to the many U.S.-based consultancies and contractors who actually do this work, often for many millions of dollars – e.g.Booz Allen Hamilton, SAIC, Stratfor, Ashcroft Group. But that’s the thing about Guandolo, he actually believes that only he and a small cadre of allies – including the anti-Muslim ACT! For America, whose Thin Blue Line project he helped launch – understand geopolitics, terrorism and Islam.

In Guandolo’s mind, the U.S. government has already been infiltrated by the enemy –– Muslims. He raised eyebrows –– and was widely mocked –– a year ago with wild claimsabout John Brennan, who was later confirmed as director of the Central Intelligence Agency. Speaking on a far-right online radio show, heclaimed that Brennan had “interwoven his life professionally and personally with individuals that we know are terrorist” and given them access to top government officials. What’s more, he claimed Brennan “brought known Hamas and Muslim Brotherhood leaders into the government and into advisory positions.”

Why would Brennan do such things? Guandolo knows. It’s because Brennan was the target of a successful “counterintelligence operation against him” in Saudi Arabia and converted to “Islam when he served in an official capacity” there. And the conspiracy doesn’t stop there. Guandolo claimed a couple weeks later that President Obama had “made a significant effort to protect known members of Hamas and the Muslim Brotherhood inside this government.” . . .

The SPLC also looks at Guandolo here and here, while Right Wing Watch has a John Guandolo category on its webpage. The Washington Post reports that author David Shipler has debunked the central tenet of Guandolo's conspiracy theory in hisbook "Freedom of Speech: Mightier in Than the Sword":

A compelling chapter depicts the community of self-appointed guardians who make a business of issuing impassioned, McCarthy-like warnings about Islamist conspiracies to take over the United States. Shipler introduces us to Frank Gaffney Jr. of the Center for Security Policy; John Guandolo, a former FBI agent; and Steven Emerson, who runs the Investigative Project on Terrorism Web site. All maintain that the Muslim Brotherhood is engaged in an international conspiracy, through a variety of front organizations, to insinuate itself into American life and achieve Islamist world domination. Shipler attends an all-day training session run by Guandolo on how to advance these anti-Muslim views in the media, and he tracks down the sources these so-called experts rely upon to back up their overheated claims.

He finds that the central document underlying most of the claims is a 15-page “explanatory memo” found in an FBI search of an Annandale, Va., home in 2004. Signed by Mohamed Akram, a member of the Palestine Committee of the Muslim Brotherhood, it describes the Brotherhood’s goal as “a kind of grand Jihad in eliminating and destroying the Western civilization from within” and includes a list of “our organizations and the organizations of our friends,” naming some of the most well-established, mainstream Muslim groups in the United States. Gaffney calls it “the Rosetta stone for the Muslim Brotherhood.” Shipler shows that in fact the document is nothing more than a thought piece drafted by a single individual in the early 1990s, and that there is no evidence it was ever considered, much less adopted, by the Muslim Brotherhood or anyone else. Shipler’s research shows that other supposed evidence of the grand Islamist conspiracy is similarly speculative.

This chapter, much like the book as a whole, illustrates the freedom of speech at work. Gaffney, Guandolo and Emerson are, of course, exercising their First Amendment rights, but in doing so they pose a real threat to the political freedoms of others, as they tar with unjustified suspicion Muslim civic organizations that are engaged in the promotion of civil liberties, religious freedom and Muslim identity, not terrorism. Shipler’s response is not to call for the suppression of the conspiracy theorists’ speech, but simply to demonstrate that their claims are vastly exaggerated and unsubstantiated. In short, he answers their speech with his speech. An objective reader cannot help but come away with a better understanding of the truth. This is the freedom of speech at its best.

. . . about a month ago, another speaker showed up in Morrison County. His appearance was by invitation only (meaning only those on the approved list were told the location), but about 70 people showed up at a senior center to hear what he had to say.

I was told that the reason for the secrecy was because the organizers were afraid that CAIR would attempt to disrupt the meeting.

The speaker was John Guandolo. If one runs a Google search on him, what one finds is interesting. Guandolo is a former FBI agent, and he is well connected to a group that includes a retired lieutenant general, a retired admiral, a former U.S. ambassador and a number of former CIA analysts.

Guandolo believes that the Muslim Brotherhood through various front organizations is working to overthrow the U.S. government from within and replace it with an Islamic caliphate governed by Sharia law.

That’s quite a bold statement, but Guandolo says don’t believe what he says, just listen to what U.S. Islamic leaders are saying. He has written a book, “Raising a Jihadi Generation,” which contains numerous excerpts from the documents of U.S. Islamic leaders to confirm his position. Many of the documents were seized during FBI investigations. . . .

. . . The writer’s information source, John Guandolo? He’s a “former” FBI agent because he resigned from the FBI after it became known that, while married, he had inappropriate sexual relationships with female agents and with a confidential source witness during a federal government corruption investigation. He now cruises the anti-terrorism speaker network looking for secret meetings and gullible Islamophobic folks.

The writer owns a bully pulpit from which is displayed editorial sloppiness that is cause for concern in this community. Even where it is legal to speak contemptuously about a religion, is it wise? Does it encourage intolerance? Is it compassionate? Should society encourage or oppose it? If we are going to move forward as a society, we must do all that we can to avoid denigrating the dignity of another human being.

We found no evidence that Guandolo's most recent [the one in January] visit was promoted to the general public--and so we'll have reserve judgement as to whether he actually linked Black Lives Matter to terrorism.

Critical thinking, hearsay, and policy

We believe Americans can say pretty much anything that we want--but shouldn't expect that our freedom from censorship includes freedom from criticism, ie, others' freedom to speak their minds. . . .

Photo: John Guandolo.

If you appreciate our posts and original analysis, you can mail contributions (payable to Sally Jo Sorensen, 33166 770th Ave, Ortonville, MN 56278) or use the paypal button in the upper right hand corner of this post.

Oct 12, 2016

Bluestem Prairie isn't the only voice in Greater Minnesota scrutinizing the tactic that we call "placebaiting," in which different regions of the state are played off against each other.

Most frequently, urban lawmakers are cast as villains, rural voters are the target, and Republicans are the perpetrators in this divisive rhetoric. Regional differences and needs do exist, but one region's gain doesn't automatically mean that another area must lose.

Let's not mince words: Minnesota's 2016 legislative session was, by and large, a massive failure. Political posturing led to the demise of the transportation bill and bonding bill, while a typo that would have cost the state $100 million compelled Gov. Mark Dayton to veto an otherwise good tax bill. . . .

There is plenty of blame to go around — and many sore fingers from all that pointing —but with just weeks until the election, it's time to stop complaining and start looking for solutions.

As voters, we need to ask the candidates and ourselves how things will be different in 2017. Whether we send back the same cast of characters or elect new ones, we need leaders who refuse to accept the inaction of the last biennium as the status quo. "Compromise" must be more than just a buzzword. It must be a course of action if we are going to see real results for Greater Minnesota.

Last session, it was disappointing to see that some rural legislators appeared to operate under the impression that in order to help Greater Minnesota, they needed to take something away from the metro area.

This strategy of attempting to hurt the metro — by cutting state aid to Minneapolis and St. Paul and preventing construction of light rail transit, even if it was paid for by metro-area dollars — proved to be counterproductive. Trying to poke holes in the metro's bucket did nothing to actually improve Greater Minnesota. Instead, it only fueled more of the divisiveness that prevents progress and harms our entire state.

This cannot continue. We need legislators who will focus on accomplishing good things for the communities they represent rather than devote their time and energy to trying to stop the other party or region from getting things they need. . . .

Read the whole column at the Grand Forks Herald. We think that it will likely be published in newspapers across the state.

Carlson and Smiglewski serve as president and vice president, respectively, of the Coalition of Greater Minnesota Cities.

If you appreciate our posts and original analysis, you can mail contributions (payable to Sally Jo Sorensen, 33166 770th Ave, Ortonville, MN 56278) or use the paypal button in the upper right hand corner of this post.

"Frankly, they just don't know what you're talking about when we're talking about no coverage or spotty coverage," Lueck said.

Everybody knows "metro legislators" is Republican code for "DFL." But as the infographic at the top of this page illustrates, those God-awful metro-centric Democrats stated the digital divide quite clearly when they posted the image to the Minnesota House DFL Caucus Facebook page on January 21, 2016.

That damn metro Minority Leader Paul Thissen and his crew, spreading those facts before the session started. We gather Lueck missed that part about his "metro" colleagues knowing what talk about "no coverage or spotty coverage" means.

The Aitkin Republican must have missed another image posted that same day:

At a recent forum about the lack of high-speed Internet access in greater Minnesota, a woman from Aitkin, Minn., told us, "this isn't just a need—it's a necessity."

I agree. The availability of high-speed Internet has become a critical issue of economic vitality and quality of life for all Minnesotans. Unfortunately, House Republicans ignored this critical priority for greater Minnesota and halted our momentum to ensure all Minnesotans have access to high-speed Internet.

Broadband infrastructure—the means in which we provide high-speed Internet access across our state—got its first significant investment in 2014 by our DFL-led Legislature. But we knew this was only a down-payment. In fact, the Governor's Broadband Task Force has recommended a $100 million per year investment in our state's Border-to-Border Broadband Development Grant program.

Many people in greater Minnesota began this year with high hopes, given the promises Republican legislators made on the campaign trail. But despite a $2 billion surplus, the Republican-led House did not continue this commitment to rural broadband access in 2015. They initially zeroed-out our state's broadband investment and ended up putting just $10 million into our broadband program.

They also proposed to eliminate the Office of Broadband Development. That's because their top priority last session was massive tax breaks that benefit large corporations and businesses that predominantly reside in the metro area.

We knew that $10 million for broadband was inadequate then, and we have now confirmed it. This past week, the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development released their list of communities that applied for broadband grants. The resources passed by the Republican-led House will only cover about one-third of the requests, leaving dozens of Minnesota communities disconnected.

And as noted at the meetings, the skimpy Republican commitment probably discouraged a lot of communities from applying.

Consider what is happening in Pine City, Minn., and in many rural areas across the state. After closing time at the local library, you can see people huddled in their cars with their laptops, struggling to maintain a connection on the library WI-FI so that they can complete homework or send an e-mail.

We must do better—for a student who can't log on to the Internet to complete a research paper, for a small business owner trying to stay competitive with the metro area, and for a parent who wants to connect online with a son or daughter at college.

We hear a lot of happy talk from Republican legislators about broadband. But talk won't build a single mile of broadband infrastructure.

Before next session, I urge Herald readers to contact their legislators and urge them to put their money where their mouths are in support of broadband infrastructure funding.

Indeed, the Republicans ended up taking Thissen's advice--though with only one-third of what that equally-metro governor wanted for broadband.

No wonder Lueck is reduced to placebaiting of the lowest sort. The fact is that "metro" legislators--like the leader of the Minnesota House DFL Caucus--fully understand the problem, as does the DFL governor and Lt. Gov. Tina "Bright Lights, Big City" Smith.

However, Lt. Gov. Tina Smith said in a statement that the Republican broadband proposal wasn't enough, and pointed out that Gov. Mark Dayton proposed $100 million in grant funding.

"The governor and I welcome the work of House Republicans on broadband," Smith said. "Their proposals, however, barely make a dent in the need for high-speed, affordable broadband access in greater Minnesota. At the level of investment they are proposing, the 244,000 households in greater Minnesota without broadband connections will wait decades to get up to speed. This is bad for our economy, bad for greater Minnesota, and we need to do better."

Perhaps Lueck simply imagines that since so much of rural Minnesota is still left without reliable high-speed broadband, no one's going to fact check the complete blither that escapes from his mouth into the world as he placebaits his metro colleagues.

Images: Infographics released by the Minnesota House DFL Caucus. Via Facebook.

If you appreciate our posts and original analysis, you can mail contributions (payable to Sally Jo Sorensen, 33166 770th Ave, Ortonville, MN 56278) or use the paypal button in the upper right hand corner of this post.

On the issue of a potential high speed rail line between the Twin Cities and Rochester, all six candidates said they would not support such a project. Goggin said it would make Goodhue County a fly-over county. He proposed a three-point threshold: no eminent domain, setup a decommissioning fund and no government money used to build it.

Diesslin said infrastructure funding should be used to support the existing roads and bridges, not a new project that would affect too many landowners. Bayley said to watch the eminent domain question, because she watched it play out on CapX2020 and eminent domain laws are very strong.

Schmit and Drazkowski both urged residents to fight for transparency in the process as zip rail is being studied, so that citizens know what is going on and can represent their concerns. Haley added that people need to consider the cost of loss in productive farm land and loss of income for property owners.

Will potential investors understand the depth of opposition to the project in "fly-over country"? While Wendy Meadley is compiling secret guest lists for invite-only receptions, those citizens who oppose the North American High Speed Rail Group's zip-train from the Twin Cities to Rochester are organizing each other--and putting together public debate for candidates.

Meadley, of course, believes the small people of the grassroots don't matter. That's a winning ticket in some areas of the world, but those aspiring to serve in St. Paul seem to hold a very contrary notion of how things should get done.

Photo: A famous scene from The Simpsons. Because boondoggles.

If you appreciate our posts and original analysis, you can mail contributions (payable to Sally Jo Sorensen, 33166 770th Ave, Ortonville, MN 56278) or use the paypal button in the upper right hand corner of this post.

Kent Wawrzynaikhttp://www.cnn.com/.../donald-trump-women-lewd-comments...When are you going to comment on this? You have attached your candidacy to Mr Trump and as a father and husband I think you need to denounce this. I live in the first district and I and many others would like to hear from you on this.

Looking ahead to November, Hagedorn said he is confident Trump will win the 1st District and the White House in November.

He added, "I predicted a long time ago that by the end of the election, (Democrats) will be running away from Hillary Clinton as fast as other Republicans will be running toward Donald Trump. I really believe that."

Minnesota's First Congressional District, which stretches across the bottom part of the state from the South Dakota to Wisconsin borders, with the Iowa border at its feet, is not considered competitive by any national handicapper.

If you appreciate our posts and original analysis, you can mail contributions (payable to Sally Jo Sorensen, 33166 770th Ave, Ortonville, MN 56278) or use the paypal button in the upper right hand corner of this post.

Oct 09, 2016

In his first rodeo, Nolan served in Congress from January 3, 1975 – January 3, 1981, in Minnesota's old, old Sixth Congressional district. In his second, he's served as congressman for Minnesota's 8th, from the northern exurbs to Duluth and the Range.

With each passing year, this becomes increasingly clear: U.S. Rep. Rick Nolan, simply put, is good for Duluth, good for the Iron Range and good for Northeastern Minnesota.

On Nov. 8, voters here are going to be needed to propel Nolan to re-election victory, assuring the congressman stays on the job for them, the same congressman who got pavement-pounding semis off of Superior Street in our downtown, a feat long eluding local leaders; who has been consistent and unwavering in his support of mining, pipelines and protecting good-paying Northland jobs; who has made national headlines by fearlessly butting heads with politics-as-usual Washington; and who has been willing to contradict his party in favor of supporting his 8th Congressional District.

Rick Nolan has been accessible and responsive and has earned the support he’ll need to prevail and remain in office.

Little his challenger has done or said suggests he’d be as open or as willing to address our needs here in the north. Republican Stewart Mills’ base of support clearly is in the southern end of the district. He’s rarely seen in Duluth or on the Range. That’s in stark contrast to Nolan and, before him, Reps. Chip Cravaack and Jim Oberstar. Mills has no campaign office here, even though Duluth is the biggest city in the district.

And voters can be forgiven for being suspicious of Mills’ seeming unwillingness to answer questions publicly or to face scrutiny — or even inquiry — in front of constituents in the north or anywhere. Mills turned down numerous invitations this campaign season to debate his opponent or to appear with him on television, on radio or elsewhere. And the one time he did agree to share a stage with Nolan — at the Playhouse in Duluth on Sept. 19 at a candidate forum sponsored by the News Tribune and Duluth Area Chamber of Commerce — he arrived through a back door moments before the debate was to begin and then dashed away soon after it was over.

When the News Tribune editorial board requested a follow-up meeting, Mills said he’d only do so off the record. . . .

In the copy that follows the audio, the MPR staff did provide Mills some time with the website's readers:

Mills declined the invitation. . . .

Below are some key points taken from Nolan's conversation with host Tom Weber. Also below are answers Mills has given in other instances on similar topics.

Check out the answers at MPR.

Photo: Via MPR, Mills (left) and Nolan (right) in their only debate, back in September. Perhaps Mills fears the giant blancmange on stage between them will return and challenge him to a game of tennis. (Hat-tip Chris Steller for recognizing the object for what it is).

If you appreciate our posts and original analysis, you can mail contributions (payable to Sally Jo Sorensen, 33166 770th Ave, Ortonville, MN 56278) or use the paypal button in the upper right hand corner of this post.

The after-effects of an anti-Islam speech late last month by Usama Dakdok ripped a Brainerd church apart.

Todd Wooden is still pastor of Oak Street Chapel, a nondenominational Christian church founded in 2000. The church board members who asked to him resign last week, however, have instead resigned themselves.

Wooden came on as pastor in 2013, two years after original pastor Julian "Chip" Avelsgaard was killed in a motorcycle crash. Avelsgaard's death prompted fears the group he founded out of his garage would disintegrate into nothing—though the church endured.

However, Dakdok's presentation sparked an internal conflict at Oak Street.

Former board of trustees president Dace Julifs said Wednesday he had resigned his post along with other five board members, four of whom had agreed that Julifs would ask Wooden to resign following Dakdok's presentation at the church Sept. 29. That left one remaining board member of the original seven people.

Alpha News reported earlier this week that the entire board had resigned and that "around half of the 80 member congregation have left or plan to leave the church." [italics in original].

"What does Dakdok care?" Julifs said of the church's subsequent problems. "He got his minute of fame. He's going to move on to the next town, and do the same thing to the next church."

"As far as I'm concerned, (Oak Street Chapel) now is a blight on the community, with this hate," Julifs said. "It's so sad, because this church used to be a shining example of what we're supposed to be as Christians: happy, fun, caring, giving."

As Dakdok tried to continue grilling the two speakers, he was asked forcefully to sit down by several members of the audience, who although they didn't outright "boo" him, applauded both Haider and Kamel when they responded, clearly making a point about who had been invited to speak, and who had not.

"You had your turn to speak in Brainerd," Haider said at one point, referring to a recent event where Dakdok was invited to be the featured speaker at a Brainerd church, for an anti-Islam presentation that had taken place just a couple of days prior to Sunday's forum. After several minutes of back-and-forth exchanges, Dakdok approached the front of the room, stating that he wanted to show Kamel a passage from his copy of the Quran (as Kamel did not have a copy with him), and Kamel said, 'Sir, please sit down."

At that point, Detroit Lakes Police Chief Tim Eggebraaten ‒ who was present at the forum, but not in uniform — quietly approached the Florida minister from the side of the room. After escorting a clearly reluctant Dakdok back to his seat, Eggebraaten sat down in the chair right next to him — where he remained for the rest of the presentation.

Aside from Dakdok's interruption, most of the forum was focused on showing the similarities of Muslims and Christians, and how peaceful, friendly relationships can be forged between the two groups.

If you appreciate our posts and original analysis, you can mail contributions (payable to Sally Jo Sorensen, 33166 770th Ave, Ortonville, MN 56278) or use the paypal button in the upper right hand corner of this post.

As Dakdok tried to continue grilling the two speakers, he was asked forcefully to sit down by several members of the audience, who although they didn't outright "boo" him, applauded both Haider and Kamel when they responded, clearly making a point about who had been invited to speak, and who had not.

"You had your turn to speak in Brainerd," Haider said at one point, referring to a recent event where Dakdok was invited to be the featured speaker at a Brainerd church, for an anti-Islam presentation that had taken place just a couple of days prior to Sunday's forum. After several minutes of back-and-forth exchanges, Dakdok approached the front of the room, stating that he wanted to show Kamel a passage from his copy of the Quran (as Kamel did not have a copy with him), and Kamel said, 'Sir, please sit down."

At that point, Detroit Lakes Police Chief Tim Eggebraaten ‒ who was present at the forum, but not in uniform — quietly approached the Florida minister from the side of the room. After escorting a clearly reluctant Dakdok back to his seat, Eggebraaten sat down in the chair right next to him — where he remained for the rest of the presentation.

Aside from Dakdok's interruption, most of the forum was focused on showing the similarities of Muslims and Christians, and how peaceful, friendly relationships can be forged between the two groups.

Perhaps you misunderstand us, Mr. Usama Dakdok, so let's get things clear. When you stood up and spewed hate speech at our local "Meet Your Muslim Neighbors" event designed to build bridges and create understanding, you were not a welcomed presence. You came all the way from Florida to do this first in Brainerd and now here, but as it turns out, we were not the audience you probably thought we were.

Yes, we are located in a mostly rural, mostly white, mostly Scandinavian part of the country. We're not a big melting pot — we know that. We're more of a crock pot full of tater tot hot dish. Whether we realize it or not, many of us have fairly thick northern accents that, to some, may be misinterpreted as simple and a bit back-woodsey. To be very, very honest, anybody who shows up here in traditional Islamic clothing and speaking another language will be probably be stared at. We're not used to it. The majority of our community knows very little about Muslims, except what we see on TV, which leaves many people at least a little uneasy about it all.

Here is the thing, though. Just because we may seem like an easy target — a persuadable audience — doesn't mean we are. The same stubborn, slow-to-change attitudes that many of us here have may mean we're not the best at reaching out to newcomers, particularly if they are obviously different from us, but it also means we don't take your word either.

At the meeting, you tried to "educate" guest speaker Fauzia Haider on her own faith, as if you had the right to clarify what her religion should mean to her. We're sure you would have been open to her breaking down the actual meaning of your own religious beliefs for you, but she didn't do that. It's almost like she thought you had the right as an American to believe in your God the way you wanted to. Huh strange. It's weird when people break out their true American values like that.

It's too bad you wasted your time and money coming here, but just so that you don't feel the need to stay, let us explain to you who we are in this "neck of the woods."

We are low maintenance. If somebody moves in next door, we generally only require a few things in order for them to earn our favor. Number one, we feel certain you are a good hearted person with no intent to harm. Number two, you work for your paycheck unless you are legitimately disabled. Number three, you shovel your own driveway. Boom. We're happy. We're not a hateful group here, Mr. Dakdok. We assume that you learned that during your hate speech when you were told to sit down by audience members. Our own police chief, Tim Eggebraaten, even sat down next to you like a teacher sitting down next to a misbehaved child, to ensure you didn't stand back up. Are you grasping this by now, Mr. Daktok? Our community literally did not want you standing up. We're not perfect, but we're not you. We will evolve on our own accord and in a way that we will be proud of — we don't need your help or "education" — thank you very much. Safe travels home.

If you appreciate our posts and original analysis, you can mail contributions (payable to Sally Jo Sorensen, 33166 770th Ave, Ortonville, MN 56278) or use the paypal button in the upper right hand corner of this post.

Prevailing wage sets the hourly wage employers must pay workers on construction projects that receive state money. Gruenhagen said the mandated pay hurts state projects, and local projects that receive state money.

“Minnesota is among the four states with the highest prevailing wage law,” he said.

After he takes out "artificial" prevailing wages, maybe he'll go after worker safety measures and restrictions on child labor, both of which drive up the costs employers face. Perhaps prison chain gangs doing road work, rather than reopening the closed private prison in Appleton, could replace honest construction workers while we're at it. For a bit of porridge and bread crusts--roads would be repaired, prison overcrowding solved.

Photo: Glenn Gruenhagen arguing for his bill to make sure people use the bathroom assigned to their biological gender at birth. Maybe Minnesota construction workers could get second jobs as bathroom monitors if both of Gruenhagen's "reforms" succeed. Photo by Tom Olmscheid via MinnPost.

If you appreciate our posts and original analysis, you can mail contributions (payable to Sally Jo Sorensen, 33166 770th Ave, Ortonville, MN 56278) or use the paypal button in the upper right hand corner of this post.

Oct 04, 2016

If you appreciate our posts and original analysis, you can mail contributions (payable to Sally Jo Sorensen, 33166 770th Ave, Ortonville, MN 56278) or use the paypal button in the upper right hand corner of this post.

An investigation of The Muslim Students Association revealed a link between the MSA and the Muslim Brotherhood. In a key document titled “The Explanatory Memorandum on the General Strategic Goal for the Group in North America”, it lists The Muslim Brotherhood’s “organizations and organizations of our friends” on page 31 of the document. Listed second out of 29 Muslim Brotherhood affiliated groups is The Muslim Students Association. The list of affiliated groups in the Explanatory Memorandum is prefaced by the statement “Imagine if they all march according to one plan.”

There is a link between the Muslim Student Association and The Muslim Brotherhood. A key Muslim Brotherhood document, entitled “The Explanatory Memorandum on the General Strategic Goal for the Group in North America”, lists The Muslim Brotherhood’s “organizations and the organizations of our friends” on page 31 of the document. The Muslim Student Association is listed second among 29 groups and organizations affiliated with the Muslim Brotherhood. The list is prefaced by the statement, “Imagine if they all march according to one plan!”

If this were submitted as original research and writing in any composition class in any of those Minnesota high schools and the similarity between the texts were discovered, the student would be flunked for plagiarism, regardless of race, color, religion or creed.

Former FBI agent and author of “Raising A Jihadi Generation: Understanding the Muslim Brotherhood Movement in America”, John Guandolo said, “The Muslim Students Association was the first national Islamic organization created in the United States by the Muslim Brotherhood. It’s primary focus is “Dawah” (invitation to Muslims and non-Muslims to Islam) and recruiting Jihadis. The Muslim Student Associations are now on every major university and college campus in America and are now infiltrating high schools, middle schools and even elementary schools.”

Guandolo emphasized, “All MSAs should all be shut down and their leadership imprisoned. The failure of the federal government to take strong and aggressive action against the MSAs is yet another indicator of their catastrophic incompetence and criminal negligence.”

Former FBI agent and author of “Raising A Jihadi Generation: Understanding the Muslim Brotherhood Movement in America”, John Guandolo told Alpha News, “The Muslim Students Association was the first national Islamic organization created in the United States by the Muslim Brotherhood. It’s primary focus is “Dawah” (invitation to Muslims and non-Muslims to Islam) and recruiting Jihadi’s. The Muslim Students Associations are now on every major university and college campus in America and are now infiltrating high schools, middle schools and even elementary schools.”

Guandolo emphasized, “All MSAs should all be shut down. The failure of the federal government to take strong and aggressive action against the MSAs is yet another indicator of their catastrophic incompetence and criminal negligence.”

We'll hand it to Guandolo: he sure is consistent in what he tells news outlets months apart. At least Alpha News edited out the part about locking up high school students. That's tactful.

There's more--do the comparisons yourself. Alpha News does include seven additional paragraphs about the groups in Eden Prairie and Apple Valley. Other than that, the "research" it claims as its own is lifted from the Crows Nest Politics article without attribution. Naughty-naughty.

There is a connection between Crows Nest Politics and Alpha News; they share a writer, although that writer isn't Ken Crow, under whose byline the original article appears. (Crow's most recent book is Ego in a Tea Bag, according his bio on Crows Nest Politics).

Why are we not surprised to learn the Alpha News staffer who cooked that one up is none other than Mayer-Bruestle.

For short examination of the manner in which the anti-Islam movement uses the Muslim Brotherhood Muslim Brotherhood Explanatory Memorandum, we recommend David Shipler's May 2015 article in the New Yorker, Pamela Geller and the Anti-Islam Movement.

Image: Alpha News: minimalism logo, minimalism logos.

If you appreciate our posts and original analysis, you can mail contributions (payable to Sally Jo Sorensen, 33166 770th Ave, Ortonville, MN 56278) or use the paypal button in the upper right hand corner of this post.

Oct 01, 2016

While some adults in Brainerd and Aberdeen are freaking out about Muslims and refugees, Willmar High students are confident their homecoming court demonstrates that "being around people from other ethnicities just feels normal."

The West Central Tribune's education beat reporter Linda Vanderwerf interviewed Willmar High's homecoming royalty for The privilege of diversity, an article centered around the student body's selection of Anisa Abdulahi, a Somali-American senior, as homecoming queen for the public high school in the West Central Minnesota regional center that's a two-hour drive west of Minneapolis. Vanderwerf reports:

To her classmates, Anisa Abdulahi deserved to be elected Willmar Senior High's homecoming queen because she's so nice, and everybody likes her.

The other members of her royal court recognize she's the first Somali-American homecoming queen, but they pay more attention to the type of person she is.

Anisa was crowned Monday evening, along with homecoming king Grant Duininck. They were elected by the entire student body after seniors chose the candidates.

For Riley Schneider, the homecoming princess, "I didn't think about it that much; I thought Anisa deserved it most out of anyone, because she is so amazing."

Grant said he was happy when Anisa was named queen. "It was kind of a unique situation that no other class has had before, and it was the opportunity that we had."

The students said attention given to the diverse homecoming court could help show the world what Willmar's schools are like.

The Senior High has had Hispanic students in its homecoming court in the past and this year. Anisa was the first Somali ever nominated. The student body is 57 percent white, 23 percent Hispanic, 18 percent black and 2 percent Asian.

The relative lack of racial strife in Willmar's schools stands in contrast to reports of problems with Muslims or other minorities around the state and country.

"From the outside, it looks kind of cool for other schools to see," said Sophie Schmitz, one of the queen candidates. "This is Willmar; this is what we represent; this is what we have." . . .

The coronation follows last spring's graduation, to which United States Senator Al Franken spoke and personally congratulated each student, out of respect for Muna Abdulahi, one of the graduates who had served as a U.S. Senate page, and "he’d been largely impressed with her." The Class of 2016 valedictorian was Maité Marin-Mera, who was born in Ecuador.

The more recent article continues:

Anisa's family moved to Willmar when she was a third-grader, and the schools have been a welcoming place.

"I feel like they don't judge you on your color, on your race or religion or where you came from," she said. "They treat you the way they would want to be treated." . . .

High School Principal Paul Schmitz said people who aren't connected to the schools may not realize "it's just what's normal" for kids who have gone to school together for years.

Students of all backgrounds rise to prominent positions in the school, Schmitz said. "To me, it isn't a surprise; it just seems like a natural progression. That's just the way our school is," he said.

Students recognize the cultural and racial backgrounds of their classmates but "they really see each other as individuals," Schmitz said. . . .

Read the whole thing at the West Central Tribune. Amazing young people.

If you appreciate our posts and original analysis, you can mail contributions (payable to Sally Jo Sorensen, 33166 770th Ave, Ortonville, MN 56278) or use the paypal button in the upper right hand corner of this post.

Thursday's talk had about five protesters standing outside the church holding signs saying things like "Reject anti-Muslim bigotry" and "Say no to fear-mongering." Several of the 50 or so Dakdok attendees confronted them. There were heated arguments, but no violence.

Dakdok did some yelling too, often raising his voice in the throes of describing how Islam was infiltrating the news media and politicians and school systems, how Muslims will make war and rape.

"We need to shut them up" by refusing to consume mass media that took a favorable view of Islam, he said.

School boards weren't receptive to Dakdok's message, he said.

"They look at me like I am a crazy guy, they look at me like I am a hateful guy," he said.

The attendees were mostly older people although one man did bring a small child who appeared to be 8 or 9. They listened to Dakdok describe how Allah was actually Satan and there were two secret pillars of Islam—chief practices of the faith—in addition to the five actual pillars. Muhammed was a "child molester" and "sex offender" Dakdok said repeatedly.

Minnesota's leaders were leading its citizens to be slaughtered by the Muslims, he said. The schools were indoctrinating kids to be sympathetic to Muslims. Americans were stupid for letting so many Muslims in, he said.

"They are Muslimizing your children," he said. "They make them fall in love with Islam."

He didn't provide any specific examples that purported to show Islam in textbooks until a man in the audience, Cody Robertson, 22, Fort Ripley, got up to interrupt him, and challenged him to provide some.

When Robertson asked whether the point of Dakdok's speech was to incite hate against Muslims, Dakdok shouted him down, calling him "stupid." He said Robertson was "brainwashed by the stupid liberals." Dakdok asked Robertson if he had read the Quran, and Robertson said he hadn't.

The Board of Trustees of Oak Street Chapel in Brainerd plans to ask Pastor Todd Wooden to resign in the wake of a controversial speaker coming to the church Thursday to speak against Islam.

Board President Dace Julifs said Friday that Usama Dakdok's presentation didn't reflect any of the congregation's views and Wooden did not adequately inform the leadership ahead of time about what would take place Thursday. The board members authorized Julifs to ask for Wooden's resignation.

"That was a pastor gone rogue," Julifs said. "Oak Street Chapel, we are a kind and caring and open people."

Wooden has been a member of the non-denominational Christian church since 2000 and has pastored the church since 2013.

Julifs denounced both the presentation and comments Wooden made in a Dispatch article that ran Friday. Although Julifs did know about the presentation in advance, he said, he was under the impression it would be an informative meeting about the Muslim community and how non-Muslims could co-exist with them. The presentation wasn't sanctioned, he said. Wooden is supposed to represent all of the congregation, but instead he looked out for the needs of just one member: Daryl Bahma, whose "Defenders of the Constitution" sponsored the event in the first place.

"They took it upon themselves to use our facilities," Julifs said. "(The) people at Oak Street Chapel are such good people. It's tearing me up to know that they got ran through the mud like this."

The church was forced to take down its website because of all the negative messages they received in response to the presentation, Julifs said. He said the church's web administrator was reduced to tears after she read some of them.

Julifs was unsuccessfully trying to reach Wooden throughout Friday.

Contacted by the Dispatch and informed the board wanted him to resign, Wooden laughed. He said he didn't regret Dakdok speaking in the church and that he wouldn't resign.

"Why would I?" he said.

Wooden said a screaming match between Dakdok and several protesters was "unnecessary." He also took issue with Dakdok repeatedly calling Americans "stupid" for their acquiescence to the spread of Muslims.

"I don't know how to answer that, really, because I really don't understand all the elements of Islam at this point," he said and later added "that would be like calling a Muslim-American America-phobi(c), wouldn't it? Because they're so passionate about Islam being the only way to bring peace to this world."

Now, the congregation will decide whether Wooden stays on as a pastor. . . .

The St. Cloud engagement took place at Granite City Baptist Church on Friday evening, where Dakdok has spoken before; the topic of his talk was "Revealing the Truth about the Jihad and Terrorism of Islam." A peace and unity rally at the courthouse "coincided" with the Dakdok appearance, the St. Clod Times reported (without naming Dakdok as the speaker).

If you appreciate our posts and original analysis, you can mail contributions (payable to Sally Jo Sorensen, 33166 770th Ave, Ortonville, MN 56278) or use the paypal button in the upper right hand corner of this post.